We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

Raise it to 75. Americans are not like lazy European slackers. We like to be useful and productive, and it helps us respect ourselves. Any 65 year-old American will tell you that they are in the prime of life and ready to do anything. 65 is the new 45. The vast majority of Americans who retire at 65 have incomes at or below $20,000 per year. That's a bad plan.

Thoughts On A Sunday
The weather has been relatively nice over the past few days, sunny with some chilly temps. The local ski area has been making the best of it, running their snow guns as soon as the temperature is below freezing....

David Harsanyi: If this were true for Obama, who was once a constitutional law lecturer at the University of Chicago, why would he attempt to restrict a right that is explicitly laid out in the Bill of Rights (even if it were eminently sensible) without putting it through the republican wringer — the deliberation, the checks and balances, all of it?

Executive orders under the U.S. system are subject to checks and balances. The powers were provided by Congress or the Constitution, and are subject to review by the courts. A look at the executive order on guns shows how limited this power is.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2013/01/16/read_president_obama_s_new_proposed_executive_orders_and_legislation_on.html

As for restricting gun rights, no rights are unlimited, not even freedom of speech. The answer to the previous question about what is meant by "arms" might shed some light on this. Are all weapons are protected?

An arm is a weapon that can be held in one's hands. A "well regulated militia" (from 10 USC 311):

QUOTE:

The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.

Yes, we have. For instance, "Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose". Do you agree?

wirraway: Heller notes that militiamen would bring their private firearms to a muster. the 2A protects today firearms of a type that citizens -- the militia -- typically own.

Typical weapons have changed considerably over time. How is typical determined? The decision also said the government "must permit Heller to register his handgun and must issue him a license to carry it in the home." So, licensing is allowable.

how about you actually read Heller instead of pretending you did. the court which addresses this issue specifically --what are the characteristics and uses of modern firearms that are protected. you wouldn't ask questions like that, - if you'd read the case.

you're seriously misrepresenting the law by pretending these questions are up for debate, this is grossly dishonest.

no one says the 2A bars all regulation. the DC law effectively banned handguns and made other weapons unusable for self defense, the issue wasn't registration itself, it was banning.

registration has been legal for years. big deal. Heller was about banning.

and you people won't be able to use licensing as a back-door method of banning, the demoncraptic party already tried barring rights by overly restrictive rules intended to keep blacks from voting. it failed, just as it will when it oversteps the constitution.

William Teach: National Geographic Links Snow And Cold To Globull Warming

Yes, they do so by citing the National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee, supported by science from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

QUOTE:

William Teach: Even if anthropogenic global warming was real, it is not going to cause cold and snow.

That's simply not the case. When you disrupt circulation patterns, it can cause formerly warm areas to cool, such as the moderated climate of northwestern Europe. Or it can cause increased snow in the interior of Antarctica, which is often too cold to snow, and is essentially desert.

QUOTE:

William Teach: Only in the warped minds of dogmatic progressives hell bent on pushing their pet cult could warm cause cold.

Which just emphasizes his adherence to personal ignorance and incredulity.

QUOTE:

William Teach: The hottest year in American history was one of the coldest worldwide this century. Yes, yes, we’re talking about this century.

Globally, 2012 was the tenth warmest on record, and warmer than 2001, 2008, and 2011.

Does that include all the temperature stations next to air conditioning exhaust, near air ports? Can you audit these stations? Seems I remember that a few years ago when people started taking pictures of some of these stations showing that they were placed in areas of elevated temperatures (not related to weather) their positions became classified.

Mark Hemingway: Whoops: PolitiFact's 'Lie of the Year' Turns Out to Be True

Romney originally and falsely stated, "I saw a story today that one of the great manufacturers in this state Jeep -- now owned by the Italians -- is thinking of moving all production to China. I will fight for every good job in America." They then followed up with an ad that was highly misleading.

PolitiFact discussed the "literally accurate" canard in their original article. Hemingway hasn't introduced new information, as implied by the headline, but is simply recycling an old story.

"PolitiFact discussed the "literally accurate" canard in their original article. Hemingway hasn't introduced new information, as implied by the headline, but is simply recycling an old story.
#3 Zachriel on 2013-01-20 09:22"

Picking nits imo.. More true than false. Is 100% accuracy now the norm for political cycles?
When do you suppose the "grace period" ends for the progressive libs, and they can be expected to be held to the same standards?

Thank you Master Zachriel from getting up early this Sunday morning despite your hangover in the dorm room and educating us rubes out here in flyover country...you are like so smart and golly... I didn't know you could put quotes in the post too. What'll they think of next?

If anybody is interested in how temperature data and recording instrument evaluation are done, this pdf from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is one of the best I've ever seen. You might also want to take a look around the web site - it's very well done.

CBS Political Director Tells Obama to “Go for the Throat” and “Pulverize” Republicans

It is becoming increasingly clear that John Edwards was right - there really are two Americas. The sad thing is that the people who can most afford to pay for all these social program taxes avoid them like the plague and the middle class gets it in the neck because it's the broadest tax base.

What the Hell Is an 'Assault Weapon'?

There is not such thing as an "assault weapon". A semi-auto rifle or handgun, even if it is styled in similar fashion to a military assault rifle, is not an "assault weapon". Assault weapon is largely a term made up by the media and it is meant to provide in the broadest terms any gun other than a single shot rifle/shotgun/handgun.

And the sad thing is that politicians and media types who have never been exposed to military type weapons think that "weapon" equals "rifle". An assault rifle can be fully automatic, burst rounds (up to five) or single shot. The custom made semi auto .22 target rifle I have has a "high" capacity magazine - twenty rounds. That does not make it an "assault weapon". The AK-47 that somebody I know very well and have a very close relationship with is an "assault weapon" with a 50 round banana clip.

Curiously, the politicians and media never stop to consider that the term "assault weapon" can cover a whole multitude of "weapons" from hammers to box cutters to swords and knives. There was a case twenty years or so ago in Louisiana where a guy killed four people and wounded three others with a screwdriver. I would consider that particular screwdriver an "assault weapon".

Once, as an experiment, I disabled the safety plunger on a framing nail gun and spend some time target shooting with it. Under high pressure (125 psi), that is a pretty dangerous weapon all by itself - and it has a high capacity magazine - over 150 nails. :>)

It is going to be a sad and painful day when "Heller" is inevitably overturned in Obama's second term. The current court roster cannot last another four years and if worse possible justices than the execrably vile Sotomayor are out there, Obama will find them.
Then the dominoes of our Bill of Rights protections will fall.

Example. The Court makes a contradictory decision on a new case that results in overturning the old precedent. One well-known example is when the justices determined segregation in the public schools was unconstitutional in their decision for Brown v. Board of Education, (1954). This reversed the "separate but equal" doctrine permitting legal segregation, established in Plessy v. Ferguson, (1896).

Different case, different court, different judges. Very different result. The judges Obama puts on the bench will have a very long time to change ... everything.

again, you're not familiar with how the USSC works. Board of Education is a very rare exception. if politics were behind every ruling, then Roe v Wade would have been history long ago. the real battle will be about the particular limits of control.

Chicago Military Academy (high school college-prep serving population 84% low income, largely Black, male only) and its spawn may be the answer to raising and educating young men without a father in the home. All reports indicate success at focusing youth on the discipline and skills necessary to maturing into responsible and contributing adults. It's worth consideration for future education investment...early "military" training doesn't harm those lacking any discipline at all.

I can't remember if I read it here or in my research on animal behavior, but managing elephants in reserves demands that an older bull must be present to control and instruct the juveniles, who are inclined to raise havoc lacking an occasional "thwack on the side of the head." Same goes for many species.

"Rosa Parks didn't NEED to sit in the front of the bus." For intelligent people, that is enough for them to get the point.

If talking to an ignoramous about to accuse me of racism, followed up with, "But she had a right to. So why do I 'need' an assault rifle? I need an assault rifle because eff you I don't have to demonstrate a need to retain my rights."

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